This is the VOA SpecialEnglish AGRICULTURE REPORT.
Japanese officials are struggling to prevent the spread of madcow disease. Japan’s first case of mad cow disease was reported inSeptember. The Agriculture Ministry confirmed last month that asecond cow was infected. Japan is the only country in Asia where madcow disease is known to have spread.
The disease is officially known as Bovine SpongiformEncephalopathy, or B-S-E. It causes holes in the brain. Cows actstrangely before they die. So it is called mad cow disease.
Scientists believe cows get the disease by eating meat and bonemeal from infected animals. Since September, Japan has bannedimports and use of feed made from animal remains. Recently, theAgriculture Ministry announced plans to destroy about five-thousandcows that may have been given the feed.
Sales of Japanese beef products have dropped sharply in the pastthree months. Since October, Japanese officials have tested all cowsthat are killed for their meat. Some scientists question thetesting. They say the disease often cannot be identified in younganimals.
Scientists believe eating infected meat may cause a similar braindisease in humans. This deadly disease is called Creutzfeldt-Jakobdisease. It cannot be cured.
About one-hundred people in Europe have died fromCreutzfeldt-Jakob disease in recent years. Most of them have been inBritain.
Until recently, some experts have estimated that the total numberof deaths from eating infected beef could be as high asone-hundred-thirty thousand. However, two new reports say there willbe fewer deaths than earlier estimated. Science magazine reportedthe findings.
The reports say the total number of deaths from the disease maybe as low as two-hundred.
Researchers from France used a computer program to make theirestimate. They say their study is based partly on a betterunderstanding of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. They also say evidenceshows that young people are more likely to become infected. InBritain, the average age of those who died is twenty-eight. Only afew victims were older than fifty. From this evidence, the team saysthe probability of a person becoming infected decreases with age.
This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by GeorgeGrow.